Lockable attachment device for a mobile phone or other hand held device

ABSTRACT

An attachment device secures attaching a handheld device, such as a mobile phone or tablet. The device has a first connecting element connecting it to the handheld device and a second connecting element for securing it, e.g. to a beltloop, handbag or user&#39;s wrist. A tether cord is stored in a housing, may be withdrawn from the housing, and has a free end connected to one of the first and second connecting elements with the other connected to the housing. A retraction device, such as a spring, in the housing retracts the tether cord into the housing, A locking element may be provided for locking the tether relative to the housing. The spring can be strong enough to take the full weight of the device with the phone, while preventing the tether cord from being pulled from the housing, to prevent the handheld device from being dropped, lost or misplaced.

FIELD

This invention relates generally to a lockable attachment device for amobile phone, mobile device or other hand held device.

BACKGROUND

The following paragraphs are not an admission that anything discussed inthem is prior art or part of the knowledge of a person skilled in theart.

In recent years, mobile phones have become increasingly complex. Earlymobile phones simply provided basic telephone capabilities. Mobilephones sometimes identified as “feature phones” provided additionalfeatures, but no true computing capability. More recently, there was atrend for consumers to use smart phones, which are built on a mobileoperating system. Necessarily, such smart phones are more complex andexpensive, and hence of much greater value to the user. As smartphonesand mobile devices have become more integrated into everyday lives, theyhave also become more fragile. Further, based on their commonapplications, many people find themselves carrying their smartphoneseverywhere.

A further consequence of the use of smart phones is that they can beused for many functions over and above basic phone functions. Commonly,they are used for email, texting, and accessing the internet. As such,many smart phone users wish to have their smart phones with them at alltimes, and will use them frequently. Many users will habitually checktheir smart phones at regular intervals for email messages and the like.

This in turn leads to the problem that there is an increased likelihoodthat a user may misplace, drop or lose his or her smart phone. Sincecurrent fully-featured smart phones are quite expensive, usersunderstandably do not want to misplace, drop or lose their phones.Additionally, the relative value of smart phones makes them temptingtargets for theft.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide some means for a user to ensurethat his or her smart phone does not become lost or misplace,particularly in public situations, such as bars, restaurants and thelike, where the phone can easily be misplace or stolen. Additionally,any such means or device should prevent a user from accidently droppinga phone or other mobile or hand held device.

There have been other proposals addressing this issue. However, earlierproposals do not provide a device that both secures the smart phone,other telephone, tablet or other hand held device and enables the deviceto be readily used in an unconstrained way.

SUMMARY

The device of the present invention may house or secure a phone near auser, through the use of a spring mechanism. Users can extend or retractthe length of the tether cord and lock it at multiple positions. Also,the clip at the end of the tether cord, can be attached or detached froma wristband which allows for same features to be transferred to otheritems such as backpacks, belts or clothing. This allows users to betethered to their mobile device at all times. When not attached towristband or accessory, a carabiner S-clip may fit comfortable back intothe case.

The present invention can be used with any hand held device, such as asmart phone, any other type of mobile phone, tablets and other hand heldcomputing devices, hand held game consoles and similar devices.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there isprovide a lockable attachment device for securing a hand held device,the attachment device comprising: a first connecting element connectingthe attachment device to the hand held device; a second connectingelement for securing the attachment device with the hand connected helddevice; a housing; a tether cord stored in the housing having a free endconnected to one of the first and second connecting elements with theother of the first and second connecting elements connected to thehousing, wherein the housing includes a retraction device for retractingthe tether cord into the housing, and a locking element for locking thetether relative to the housing, to enable a portion of the tether cordheld extending unrestrained from the housing.

The locking element enables the tether cord to be locked at any one ofmultiple positions, and more generally any the cord can be locked withany desired length of the tether cord extending from the housing. At anytime the lock can be release and reset to adjust the length of thetether cord, either by increasing or decreasing the length of the cord.

The lockable attachment device may include an outer case comprising afirst portion, providing the first connecting element, for mounting tothe hand held device, and a second portion providing the housing for thetether cord.

The first portion of the outer case may comprise a back surface paneland edge surface panels for engaging the hand held device, and a lipextending from the edge surface panels to secure the hand held devicewithin the first portion. The second portion of the outer case mayextend from the back surface panel of the first portion and may beconfigured to provide a stand for the hand held device.

Optionally, the second connecting element is adapted to provide aconnection to one of a belt, a belt loop and a loop of a bag, and cancomprises a carabiner clip.

Preferably, the lockable attachment device includes a wrist band,providing the second connecting element.

The housing may include a reel and a spring for the tether cord with thetether cord being wound on the reel, and with the spring rotationallybiasing the reel to withdraw the tether cord into the housing. Thedevice can further include locking teeth on the reel and a lockingswitch for engagement with the locking teeth of the reel.

In a further aspect of the present invention, the spring is strongenough to support the weight of the attachment device and the hand helddevice and to prevent that weight from causing the tether cord to unwindfrom the reel.

Alternatively, the first connecting element comprises a case for thehand held device, and wherein the free end of the tether cord isconnected to the case.

The case may then comprise an inner casing formed from a hard materialand provided with an attachment loop, and an outer casing formed from asofter material to provide cushioning for the hand held device andhaving an opening through which the loop of the harder casing extends.Optionally, the inner casing is formed from polycarbonate and the outercasing is formed from silicone rubber. The inner casing may comprise aback surface panel, edge surface panels and a lip, adapted to securelyhold the hand held device, and further can include openings to provideaccess to one or more of control buttons, a microphone, a loud speakerand a camera of the hand held device.

Advantageously, the housing includes a reel and a spring for the tethercord with the tether cord being wound on the reel, and with the springrotationally biasing the reel to withdraw the tether cord into thehousing, and the spring can be strong enough to support the weight ofthe attachment device and the hand held device and to prevent thatweight form causing the tether cord to unwind from the reel.

A further aspect of the present invention provides an attachment devicefor securely attaching a hand held device, the attachment devicecomprising: a first connecting element connecting the attachment deviceto the hand held device; a second connecting element for securing theattachment device with the hand connected held device; a housing; atether cord stored in the housing having a free end connected to one ofthe first and second connecting elements with the other of the first andsecond connecting elements connected to the housing, wherein the housingincludes a reel for the tether cord and a spring biasing the reel tomaintain the tether cord fully withdrawn into housing and wound on thereel, wherein the spring is sufficiently strong to maintain the tethercord fully wound on the reel when the weight of the hand held device andthe attachment device is applied to the tether cord.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show moreclearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made,by way of example, to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a lockableattachment device in accordance with the present invention attached to amobile phone;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the lockable attachment deviceand the mobile phone of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lockable attachment device andmobile phone of FIG. 1 from another angle;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3 of the lockableattachment device and the mobile phone;

FIGS. 5 a, 5 b and 5 c are perspective views similar to FIG. 1, showinga tether cord being pulled out, the tether cord in a locked position,and the tether cord being retracted back into the device;

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the lockableattachment device on a mobile phone;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view along lines 6-6 of FIG. 6, with a mobilephone shown in dotted outline;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a variant of the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 is an exploded view showing components of the attachment deviceof the present invention and a mobile phone.

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of a third embodiment of the lockableattachment device;

FIG. 11 shows a perspective of a fourth embodiment of the lockableattachment device; and

FIG. 12 shows a side view of fifth embodiment of the lockable attachmentdevice.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various apparatuses or methods will be described below to provide anexample of an embodiment of each claimed invention. No embodimentdescribed below limits any claimed invention and any claimed inventionmay cover apparatuses or methods that are not described below. Theclaimed inventions are not limited to apparatuses or methods having allof the features of any one apparatus or method described below or tofeatures common to multiple or all of the apparatuses described below.One or more inventions may reside in a combination or sub-combination ofthe apparatus elements or method steps described below or in other partsof this document. It is possible that an apparatus or method describedbelow is not an embodiment of any claimed invention. The applicant(s),inventor(s) and/or owner(s) reserve all rights in any inventiondisclosed in an apparatus or method described below that is not claimedin this document and do not abandon, disclaim or dedicate to the publicany such invention by its disclosure in this document.

In the first embodiment of the lockable attachment device shown in FIGS.1-5, an exemplary mobile phone is indicated at 10, and here is a smartphone. It is further to be understood that the device can be any desiredhand held device. As is known, a smart phone can include a number ofdifferent features, and these will vary from phone to phone. The presentinvention can be adapted to suit any smart phone. In this exemplaryembodiment, the smart phone 10 can be an iPhone manufactured by Apple.As such, it may include a sleep/wake button 12, a home button 14, acamera 16 and a flash 18. At one end it may have a connector socket 20,for recharging the phone. Additionally, at an end surface there can alsobe provided, for example, a headset jack, a microphone and/or a speaker.These various features will vary from phone to phone, and it will beunderstood that a casing or housing of the present invention will bevaried to accommodate different arrangement of these and other commonelements on mobile phones, or other mobile devices.

The front surface of the phone has a home button 14, and can include afront microphone and, optionally, a front camera. Along one side edge ofthe iPhone 10, not shown, there are volume buttons.

The first embodiment of the attachment device 30 of the presentinvention provides an outer case 32, that may be formed of a suitableresilient material (e.g. silicone rubber). The outer case 32 comprises afirst portion 34 for mounting the smart phone 10 and a second portion 36for a tether mechanism, detailed below.

The first portion 34 is configured to engage the back, side and endsurfaces of the iPhone or other smart phone 10. As such, it includes aback surface panel 38, side and edge surface panels 40, and an engaginglip 42. (The engaging lip 42 is most clearly seen in FIG. 4.)

To accommodate the various features of the smart phone 10, appropriateopenings can be provided in the panels 38, 40 and 42. For use with theiPhone 10, an opening 44 can be provided in one bottom edge panel 40, toprovide access to the connector socket 20 and other features. In oneside panel is an opening 46, to provide access to the volume buttons,and in the back surface panel 38 there is an opening 48 for the cameraand flash.

The second portion 36 of the outer case 30 is generally convex and isconfigured to provide secure mounting of a tether mechanism 60. Thesecond portion 36 includes a large aperture 50, to provide visualaccess, to make the user aware of its operation. It also includes atether aperture 52 and a side aperture 54 for a locking switch, detailedbelow. This second portion 36 is also configured to provide a stand forthe phone 10, to stand the phone on either one of its edges at aninclined angle to a horizontal surface.

The tether mechanism 60 has a bottom housing 62 and a top housing 64.The housing 62, 64 can be joined together by screws. The bottom housing62 includes a shaft 66, on which is mounted a reel 68 for a tether cord70. For this purpose, the reel 68 includes an annular groove 72 aroundits outer periphery.

Internally, the reel 68 is hollow. A coil spring 74 is mounted withinthe reel 68 engaging both the reel 68 and the shaft 66, so as torotationally bias the reel 68, to wind the tether cord 70 onto the reel68 within the housing.

The bottom surface of the reel 68 includes a shallow cylindricalprojection 76 with a number of projecting, locking teeth 78.

A locking switch 80 is mounting in the side aperture 54 for slidingmovement. The locking switch 80 includes a locking catch 82 adapted toengage the reel 68 between the teeth 78, to effect the locking action.

The tether cord 70 is intended to be attached, in a variety of differentways, to a user, to affect secure mounting of the combined attachmentdevice 30 and smart phone 10 to a user. In this exemplary embodiment,the tether cord 70 is provided with a loop at its free end 90 secured toa carabiner S-clip 92.

As shown in FIG. 8, the other end of the S-clip 92 may be connected to awrist band 100 that is made out of a suitable material, such as siliconerubber. The wrist band 100 can be provided in a variety of differentsizes, to accommodate difference hand and wrist sizes. The wrist band100 includes a loop portion 102, to which the other end of the carabinerS-clip 92 is connected. While a carabiner type of clip is shown, it willbe understood that any suitable type of clip could be used.

It will be understood that the tether cord 70 can be attached or securedto a user in a variety of different ways. For example, the cord 70 canbe attached to a user's belt (not shown). The belt can be provided witha device to which the S-clip 92 can be connected. Alternatively, theS-clip 92 can be attached to a belt loop on a user's pants, or to a bag,backpack or other item of clothing.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 5 a-5 c to demonstrate use of thedevice.

The coil spring 74 is mounted so that it usually maintains the tethercord 70 fully wound up, with only a small portion or none of tether cordexposed outside of the tether mechanism 60. The tether aperture 52 canbe such that, when unrestrained, the coil spring 74 maintains the tethercord 70 in tension with the S-clip 92 abutting the housing 62. Tensionof the spring 74 can keep the S-clip snug and at least partially withinthe outer case 32. While not always necessary, to ensure that the tethercord is not accidentally pulled from the device, the locking switch 80can be in a locked position. Otherwise, it can be left in an unlockedposition, as shown at 80 a in FIG. 5 a. In this condition, the S-clip 92automatically retracts to a default position.

Then, with the S-clip 92 connected to the wrist band 100 or otherwisesecured to a user, a user can pull the phone 10 with the attachmentdevice 30 away from the S-clip 92, to pull out or unwind a length of thecord 70. Once a sufficient length of the cord 70 has been unwound, thelocking switch 80 is slid into the locking position, engaging the teeth78, to lock the reel 68. The movement of the locking switch 80 to thelocked position is indicated at 80 b in FIG. 5 b.

Significantly, the phone 10 is then free for use, without the tethercord 70 being in tension. Many other proposals have any mounting cord incontinuous tension which is inconvenient for a user.

Here, the user can ensure that a sufficient length of the cord 70 isfree, so that the user can use the smart phone 10 in an unhinderedfashion.

Once the user has finished usage of the phone, the tether cord 70 can berewound. As indicated in 5 c, the locking switch is moved to theposition 80 c, the unlocked position, permitting the spring mechanism 74to rewind the tether cord 70 onto the reel 68, i.e. to retract thetether cord 70 to the default position.

To ensure that once rewound, the cord 70 remains rewound, differenttechniques can be used.

Firstly, the coil spring 74 can be dimensioned to provide sufficienttension in the tether cord 70 that will counteract the weight of thecombined smart phone 10 and attachment device 30, i.e. the spring 74 isstrong enough to counteract this weight. Then, even absent use of thelocking switch 80, the cord 70 will normally be maintained in a fullyrewound position, even if the phone 10 is hangs down and is onlysupported by the tether cord 70. Alternatively, or as well, the lockingswitch 80 can be used to secure the tether cord 70 in the woundposition.

It will also be understood that the locking switch 80 can be used forother purposes. For example, if the free end 90 of the tether cord isconnected to a user's belt or belt loop, the user may wish to carry thephone in a pocket of his or her pants, rather than have the phone loseand exposed. For this purpose, the user can unlock the reel 68, pull outa short length of the cord 70 sufficient to enable the phone 10 to beplaced in a pocket of the user's pants. The locking switch 80 can thenbe switched to the locked position so that there is a comfortable lengthof cord 70 that enables the phone 10 to freely rest in the pant pocket,without there being an excessive exposed length of cord 70. This featurealso applies to handbag and backpacks.

In this embodiment, the case 32 provides the first connecting elementand the S-clip 92 provides the second connecting element.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show an alternative embodiment in which the attachmentdevice is separate from the smart phone. There are many known cases foriPhones and other smart phones, and many cases have multiple layers.Here the case is indicated at 110 and comprises an inner layer or casing112 of relatively hard material and an outer layer or casing 114 ofrelatively soft or resilient material. For example, the inner layer 112can be formed of polycarbonate and the outer layer 114 can be siliconerubber.

Here, the inner layer 112 is provided with a mounted loop or ring 116that extends through an opening in the outer layer 114.

In accordance with the present invention, the attachment device is nowindicated at 120 and is provided separately from the case 110. One endof the attachment device 120 is provided with a carabiner clip or othersuitable mounting device indicated at 122, and this may be providedimmediately adjacent the main body of the attachment device 120.

The attachment device 120 otherwise has a tether cord 124 that extendsfrom the attachment device 120. The attachment device 120 can have acoil spring mechanism as described above for the earlier embodiment.Again, the free end of the tether cord 124 is connected to an S-clip 126or other suitable mounting devices shown connected to the loop 116 ofthe iPhone case 110. The device can include a locking switch 128 for thereel and spring mechanism, similarly to the first embodiment. Here, thecase 110 provides the first connecting element and the clip or othermounting device provides the second connecting element.

As before, the spring within the attachment device 120 can be providedwith a locking switch. Alternatively, the attachment device 120 can beprovided with a ratchet mechanism, so that, as the tether cord 124 ispulled from the attachment device 120, the ratchet locks it in aposition. A switch can be provided to release the ratchet mechanism.

The cases 32 and 110 can be formed from silicone rubber, as can thewrist band 100. All silicone rubber parts may be provided with anantimicrobial coating.

Reference now we made to FIGS. 10, 11 and 12, which show alternativeembodiments of the present invention. Like components are given the samereference numeral as in the earlier embodiments. Thus, each of theseembodiments is intended for use with a smartphone 10, which again may bean I-Phone or other type of phone.

The third embodiment of the lockable attachment device of the presentinvention is indicated at 130 in FIG. 10. This third embodiment has anouter case 132, that houses the tether mechanism 60 in a manner similarto the earlier embodiment. A locking switch 80 is shown as for theearlier embodiment. Similarly, the tether 78 extends as in the earlierembodiment.

Here the case 32 includes clips 134 adapted to engage four corners ofthe phone 10. The clips can be adjustable to accommodate phones ofdifferent sizes and dimensions.

A fourth embodiment is indicated generally by the reference 140. Thisembodiment has an outer case 142 that essentially includes just aportion 146 equivalent to the second portion 36 of the first embodiment.Thus, there is no portion intended to engage or hold the phone 10.Instead, an adhesive, indicated schematically at 148 is applied to theback surface of the case 142, to adhere the case 142 to the phone 10.The adhesive 148 may be applied either to the entire rear surface, or inselected locations on the rear surface of the case 142.

A fifth embodiment of the device is indicated by the reference 150. Herethe device 150 includes a case 152 that, as for the previous embodiment,essentially just has portion 156 in casing the tether mechanism 60.

The case 152 is provided with a clip 158 for mounting onto a belt or thelike, separately from phone 10. The tether mechanism 60 includes thetether cord 70 and a carabiner S-clip, here indicated at 160, forconnection to the actual phone 10 or a separate case around the phone10, as in FIG. 6.

1. A lockable attachment device for securing a hand held device, theattachment device comprising: a first connecting element connecting theattachment device to the hand held device; a second connecting elementfor securing the attachment device with the hand connected held device;a housing; a tether cord stored in the housing having a free endconnected to one of the first and second connecting elements with theother of the first and second connecting elements connected to thehousing, wherein the housing includes a retraction device for retractingthe tether cord into the housing, and a locking element for locking thetether relative to the housing, to enable a portion of the tether cordheld extending unrestrained from the housing.
 2. A lockable attachmentdevice including an outer case comprising a first portion, providing thefirst connecting element, for mounting to the hand held device, and asecond portion providing the housing for the tether cord.
 3. A lockableattachment device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first portion ofthe outer case comprises a back surface panel and edge surface panelsfor engaging the hand held device, and a lip extending from the edgesurface panels to secure the hand held device within the first portion.4. A lockable attachment device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the firstportion comprises one of: an adhesive provided on a surface of thesecond portion for adhesively attaching the hand held device to thelockable attachment device, and a set of adjustable clips for grippingthe hand held device.
 5. A lockable attachment device as claimed inclaim 3, wherein the second portion of the outer case extends from theback surface panel of the first portion and is configured to provide astand for the hand held device.
 6. A lockable attachment device asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the second connecting element is adapted toprovide a connection to one of a belt, a belt loop and a loop of a bag.7. A lockable attachment device as claimed in claim 6, wherein thesecond connecting element comprises a carabiner clip.
 8. A lockableattachment device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tether cord isconnected to the second connecting element, and the second connectingelement comprises a wristband.
 9. A lockable attachment device asclaimed in claim 8, wherein the wristband is detachably connected totether cord, optionally by a carabiner or other clip, to enable thetether cord to be retracted when not in use.
 10. A lockable attachmentdevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing includes a reel and aspring for the tether cord with the tether cord being wound on the reel,and with the spring rotationally biasing the reel to withdraw the tethercord into the housing.
 11. A lockable attachment device as claimed inclaim 10, including locking teeth on the reel and a locking switch forengagement with the locking teeth of the reel.
 12. A lockable attachmentdevice as claimed in claim 10, wherein the spring is strong enough tosupport the weight of the attachment device and the hand held device andto prevent that weight from causing the tether cord to unwind from thereel.
 13. A lockable attachment device as claimed in claim 1, whereinfirst connecting element comprises a case for the hand held device, andwherein the free end of the tether cord is connected to the case.
 14. Alockable attachment device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the casecomprises an inner casing formed from a hard material and provided withan attachment loop, and an outer casing formed from a softer material toprovide cushioning for the hand held device and having an openingthrough which the loop of the harder casing extends.
 15. A lockableattachment device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the inner casing isformed from polycarbonate and the outer casing is formed from siliconerubber.
 16. A lockable attachment device as claimed in claim 15, whereinthe inner casing comprises a back surface panel, edge surface panels anda lip, adapted to securely hold the hand held device.
 17. A lockableattachment device of claim 16, wherein the casing includes openings toprovide access to one or more of control buttons, a microphone, a loudspeaker and a camera of the hand held device.
 18. A lockable attachmentdevice as claimed in claim 13, wherein the housing includes a reel and aspring for the tether cord with the tether cord being wound on the reel,and with the spring rotationally biasing the reel to withdraw the tethercord into the housing.
 19. A lockable attachment device as claimed inclaim 18, wherein the spring is strong enough to support the weight ofthe attachment device and the hand held device and to prevent thatweight form causing the tether cord to unwind from the reel.
 20. Alockable attachment device as claimed in claim 18, wherein the housingincludes a clip for securing the attachment device to a belt or otherarticle.
 21. A lockable attachment device as claimed in claim 18,including locking teeth on the reel and a locking switch for engagementwith the locking teeth of the reel.
 22. An attachment device forsecurely attaching a hand held device, the attachment device comprising:a first connecting element connecting the attachment device to the handheld device; a second connecting element for securing the attachmentdevice with the hand connected held device; a housing; a tether cordstored in the housing having a free end connected to one of the firstand second connecting elements with the other of the first and secondconnecting elements connected to the housing, wherein the housingincludes a reel for the tether cord and a spring biasing the reel tomaintain the tether cord fully withdrawn into housing and wound on thereel, wherein the spring is sufficiently strong to maintain the tethercord fully wound on the reel when the weight of the hand held device andthe attachment device is applied to the tether cord.